The present invention relates to a method and a device for obtaining and producing orthoses models, especially trunk orthoses and braces, suited for the treatment of curvatures and deformations of the human spine as well as of scoliosis. In another aspect the invention concerns a method and device for obtaining orthoses or prosthesis models, especially prosthesis shafts for replacement of defective body parts of the patient.
Orthoses, i.e medical corsets or braces, are used for the treatment of the so-called scoliosis, i.e. a permanent lateral curvature of the body axis. The strive for correction by means of such braces is to avoid operations, if possible, a cosmetic improvement is to be achieved, and the well-being of the patient is to be reproduced eventually. For achieving a successful treatment it is necessary that the corresponding brace be worn practically all day long, which is, of course, an uncomfortable burden for the wearer in everyday life. The patient will therefore be willing to accept these restrictions only, if the wearing comfort is as high as possible, i.e. if the fitting accuracy is good.
For this reason, and also for reasons of costs, a high primary fitting accuracy is necessary, i.e. the brace or the orthosis must have a good fit without any elaborate finishing, and it must ensure the desired correction of the spine. So far, this has been achieved by a largely individual piece production: For this purpose, for example, plaster casts of the patient's back are made and sent to a manufacturer of orthoses along with comments from the diagnosing medical specialist and orthopedist, who will then produce the orthosis partially from existing modules and partially with individually prepared parts, with the orthosis requiring an additional elaborate finishing in the end.
For ensuring an effective and reproducible success as a result of the treatment it must be guaranteed, however, that a suitable brace or, respectively, a suitable model is produced. In case of the described piece production there is the great danger, that strongly varying final products are made due to the subjective individual evaluation of the same curvature patterns. Since, in this case, the diagnosis is made by a plurality of different parties (doctors, clinics), it is not guaranteed that the best possible brace is chosen in each case, namely always the same brace as above for cases with a comparable curvature. This is also based on the fact that the higher rated scoliosis in need of treatment is comparatively rare in orthopedic practice, with the result, that many parties are unable to gain a great deal of experience in diagnostics. Therefore, a standardized selection system would be desirable and necessary. Only such a system can allow the reproduction of the successful treatment, whereby the effectiveness of certain brace models is controlled, so as to prove and document the anticipated success of the treatment given certain curvature patterns.
On the other hand, the system for allocating the curvature pattern of the patient's spine to a suitable orthosis must not be too rigid in order to allow account for the individual situations of the different patients. Therefore, the system must be flexible and should allow an easy adoption to possibly new occurring problems, e.g. to a newly occurring curvature type.
Given the permanent increase of expenses in public health, the production process should thereby also incur as little cost as possible. This can hardly be achieved by the aforementioned individual production. Moreover, it is desired that the preparation of the brace can take place within a short time after the diagnosis was made, i.e. that the production is not too time-consuming. This issue, too, is not reliably ensured by the individual production.
Therefore, there is a need for a production method for orthoses or orthoses moulds and a device suited therefor, which can provide a solution to the aforementioned problems. This means that the production of the orthoses must be inexpensive and easy and as fast as possible, whereby the produced orthosis has to ensure the aimed correction by a high fitting accuracy.